Thread cutter and holder for circular-knitting machines.



H. L. TRUDEL. THREAD CUTTR AND HOLDER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES. APPI .|CATION FILED MAR. 24. 1910. RENEWED NOV. 14. 1912.

1,191,100. Patented Ju1 11,1916.

HIIZ/aJ-S'SQS/ J v 6117551".

H. L. TRUDEL. THRE AD CUTTER AND HOLDER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.

IQ PPLICATION FILEL .1AR.24,I9I0- RENEWED NOV. 14,1912- 1,191,100.

Patented July 11, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Milt; zessasv V H. L. TRUDEL.

THREAD CUTTER AND HOLDER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. m0. RENEWED ov. 14, 1912.

L,1-91,100. Patented' Jul 11, 191

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED strAtrEs HENRY 1.. Taiwan, or IPSWICH, .MAssAcH snrrrs, Assmn'on, B r ia snE-Assmm I Manes, "ro sco'rr & WILLIAMS, moonrona'rnn-or camnnn, new JERSEY, a.

oonrona'r on or New JERSEY.

' THREAD cu'r'rjrm' AND HOLDER FOR Application filed March 24,1910, Serial No. 551,306.

To all 10 ham it may concern:

Be it known "that I, HENRY L. 'TnUnE a subject of King Edward VII of England,

residing at Ipswich, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Thread Gutters and Holders for Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

"This invention relate'sto circular knitting stockings, the circular sole and-heel portion and in which two threads are knit across the bottom of the n sole and. heel portion of the stocking, and

' course, but is not' knit inwith the other mach1ne,11 the maindriving shaft, 12;).

will automatically" cut and one ofthe threads is carried across the top of the foot portionoflthe stocking in each thread. I

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient device which hold the aux after each course of stitches iliary thread has been knitacross the bottom or-sole por tion" of the stocking, andtohold'said thread while that portion of the stocking is being I knit which extends across the top of the.

foot in each course. I

In the present case I have illustrated my invention as applied to a machine of the character which is fully illustrated 1 and toiJ. D. Hemphill No. 935,981, October 5, 1909, and 953,4:13,Sep-

tember 7, 1909, to which reference may behad for a complete understanding of the entire machine. so much thereof being shown and described 1n the present case as 18 necessary to understand the application-of my invention to this particular form of machine. This embodiment of my invention is a machine having a rotary needle applied to cylinder and sinkerring, but *the carrier or v same is also applicable to a machine having a station; ry needle cylinder and rotary needlecam carrier. 1

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts setv forth in the a following specification and particularly pointed out in the. claimsthereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 18 a plan \'lW,- partly broken away to save space;

Specification of Letters Patent.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MAC INES.

Renewed November 14, 1912. serial No. 731,431.

3 is a side elevation of the same as f Patented July 11,1916.

viewed from theright of Fig. Fig. 4: is an enlarged sectional elevation taken on line.

4-1 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the'arroWs-on said line-. Fig. 5 is a' de'tail f sectional elevationntaken on line'5.-j-51 ofrows on i at line.

spec'tive' of the'icutter and clamp blades.

tion ofthe arrows on said line.

Like numerals refer to like parts through 170";

out-the several views of the drawings. v In the drawings: 10 is the" frame of the cam shaft, 13 tl1e needle cylinder, 91 the needleicam ring, 1 L theneedles, 15 the rotary sinker ring, 16 the sinker cam ring and 17 the latch ring,

ili'ary thread guide 1 9 is thrown intoand out of .action during each. course of theknitting of-the foot portion, so that the sole and heel of the stocking will have two threads in each course while the top ofthe thereacross.

The auxi mally n'actionby a spring 20 and is moved out of action length to hold saidlever with its left hand end raised while that portion of' -thestock? ing which composed of a'singlethread is being knit.-

all of these partsv and their mode of o eration being clearly shown and described'in saidLetters'latent guide-and'lQan' 1 by a lever 21 connected'by alink 22 to a lever 23, and this-lever 23 may be thrown upwardly at its left handend (Fig. 3)b v a cam 24' which is of sufiicient 1 Fig. t, as viewed in the direction of thears Fig. 5 is a detail per-j. f r

Ijig. 6is a detail sectional elevation taken on line .6'6 ofFig. 4l'asviewed inthe direcfootportion will have only one thread knit liary thread guidelil is baa-.191.

.Tl ewalrxiliary thread'guide 19 is operated for e'ach course of the foot portion to throw 106' contains a plurality of-courses:

,wardly and downwardly,

the same into and out of action by a cam 59 on the main shaft 11 which operates a lever 60 which engages the rod 2:2 andlowers the rod to throw the auxiliary thread guide out of action and raises said rod to allow said auxiliary thread guide to be throwninto action by the spring 20, it being understood that this cam acts to throw the auxiliary thread guide into and out of action alternately while the foot portion of the stocking is being knit, so that the stocking will be knit'with a double sole.

The thread is cut and held by a severing device or shears which are located within the circle of the series of needles l4. These shears are illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 and 6 and consist of a movable member formed by a blade 26 and aholding plate 27 joined together by a screw 28 and a spring-tension bolt 29, the screw 28 being fastened to a lever 30 and extending through a slot 31 in the stationary member 32, while the bolt '29 extends through a slot 33 in said stationary member.

A slot 34 for the reception of the thread 35 to be severed and held, is alternately openedand'closed by the movement uprespcctively, odf' the movable cutter and holder blades 26 and 2?, and by reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 5 it will be seen that the lower edge of the out tor blade .96 is beveled to coact with the beveled lower edge of the slot 34, and that the lower edge of the holding blade 27 is rounded 0d so as not to cut the thread, but to hold it as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The lever 30 is pivoted upon a stud 36 fast to a bracket 37 whiclnin turn, is fastened to the latch ring 17. Said lever 30 is rocked by a pin 88 which projects into a slot 39 in the outer end of said lever. The pin 88-is fast to a slide 40 adapted to be moved vertically and guided by a pin 41 and screw 42 which pro'yect through slots; in said slide 40 and are each fastened to another slide which is adapted to slide in a direction radial to the center of motion of the machine upon screws 44 fast to a standard 453 which is, in turn, fastened to the stationary bedplate 46. A spring 47, fast at one end to the pin 41 and at the other end to a. pin 48 on the slide40, acts to hold said slide normally in its uppermost position.

A cam follower roll 49 is rotatably mounted upon the slide 40 and bears normally against the under side of the sinker ring 15.

- l hc same is engaged twice during each rotation of the needle cylinder and the sinker ring by cams 50 and 51. which act to move the slide 40 downwardly against the action of the spring 47 twice during each successive course knit in the foot portion of the stocking. The slide 40 constitutes a movable ele n'lent or conuccti on capable of connecting the yarn cutter and clamp mechanism to its actuating cams, which give the slide 40 a downward movement. This downward movement rocks the lever 30, moving the movable member of the shears upwardly, uncovering the slot 34 and allowing the thread to enter the same, and when the caul O releases the roll 49 and its slide 40, the slide will be drawn upwardly, thus rocking the-lever to allow the movable portion of the shears to move downwardly and cut oil the thread and hold the same clamped within the slot 34.

It will be noticed that the cams 50 and 51 are relatively fixed with respect to'the needles. They therefore determine with respect to the fabric at what point around the tube of knitting the yarn is to be out. By timing the actuation of the cutter and clamp in this manner from a part moving with the needles I am enabled to cut and clamp the yarn accurately at the borders of the sectional splicing. This is further aided by the position of the depending or fixed blade of the shear cutter constituted by the part 32, which it should be'noticed is near the back of the needles and very close to the forming edge of the fabric. The cut end of the yarn left attached to thefubric is therefore as sh rt as the practicable dimensions of the cutting elements will permit.

lVhen that portion of the stocking is reached in which only a single thread is to be used, the slide 43, which carries with it the slide 40, is moved toward the right (Fig.

4-) and, the pin 38 moves out of the slot 3.), while the roll 49 moves out of engagement and alincment with the cams 50 and 51, so that for a plurality of successive courses the slide 40 will be out of action and consequently the lever 30 and the shears will be out of action, while the end of the severed thread will be held by the blade 27. The slide 40 is moved, together with the slide 43, radially outward from the center of the needle cylinder tor this purpose by means of allover 52 which is pivoted at 53 to the standard 45, said lever being connected to the slide 43 by a. screw 54, and the lower end of said lever being connected by a link 55 to a bell-crank lever 56 which, in turn, is connected by a link 57 and a screw 62 entering a short lOSlZ-IIIOtlOll slot (53 in said link to a bell-crank lever 58 which is rocked upon its pivot'tll bythc rod 22' to which it is connected. The rod 22 when moved by the cam 24 to withdraw the auxiliary or sectional splicing guide 19. when knitting of like character is to be done throughout an entire course or plurality of courses, as for the leg of a stocking. is moved a sufficient distance by cam 24 to bring screw (52 against the end of slot (33 and remot slide 43 radially, to break the connections 38. 39 and 49, 50, and thus to cease opcratiugthe cut tor and claim). .Vhen r'nrn 24- releases lever "23, spring 20 causes; rod 22 to move upward; shiftinglever 60finto contact with camel). When the low part of said cam is in contact with leverQGO, rod 22 and rbellcrank 58 will be in a position bringingscrew against the right end ofsiot 63, as shown in Fig. 3,;t0' move slide4 3 inward to the position shown in Fig. 4, to reestablish the connection to the clamp and cutter.- Rod 22, lever 21, and yarn-guide 19 are now operated twice in'each revolution by} ca1n59, througha less distance thanthe mot on 1mparted by cam 2i,yhut sufficiently to cause the auxiliary guide to enter and rel'noveits "yarn from the needles. s ment screw '62 traverses slot 63 Without movinglinlrfii or the slide-i3.

During-this move- The general operation of, the machine hereinhefore specifically described is as fol: lowsziThread is led to the" needles by the Lv; .pi-imary' threa'd guide 18 and this thread guide leads thread tothe needles whilehoth the topand ,solejportion of the foot oflthe stocking! is being knit, or; in other words;

throughout the entire extentrof the courses.

Anotherthread is led'tothe needlesilet by the auxiliary thread guide 19. This auxiliary thread guide, duringthe "knitting of the foot portion of thestockin'g; is; operated to throw the same into and out of action-rem? '5 tively to the needles alternately duringeach engage the roll. 49fupon' the slide lOfand i'nove the same downwardly (Fig. 4), thus rocking the lever 30 upon its'pivot 36 and moving-the cutting blade 26 and holding blade 27up'ivardlyto open the slot 34%. This] is donein' proper time so that as the needle cylinder rotates, carrying Withit the needles 1%, and while the. auxiliarythreadguide is 26and27 downwardly, thuscutting off the iliary thread guide is thrown down into 5 in its raised or inactive positionythe thread is carried the rotation of the cylinder andits needles into .the slot 34, as illustrated in dotted linesFig; 1. As soon as the thread gets into the slot 34;, the cam 50 or- 51, as the case may be, releases the slide 40 and the spring .47 moves said slide upwardly, causing the lever 30 150 be rocked upon its pivot vto move the cutter an'dholder blades thread and holding the same untilthe auxposition to lead thread to the needles again,

and the cam 51 then[releases the-thread which has'been held by the holdingblade 27, so that in each course of.the foot pore.

tion of the stocking, two threads are led to the needles while the sole portion ofthe stocking is being knit, and one thread is sled thereto whilethe top of the foot per-'- tion is being knit" and the auxiliary thread is automati eally cut off and led to the needles alternately;duringeach course which is knit into the-footportion of the-stocking.

vAfter; that portion of the stocking is' knit Where the reinforced part is employed stocking, itis r desirable to knita certain part of the stocking, or the nextsucceeding portion; ithout the use of the auxiliary thread, ,andyithereforeyit is necessary to v or in which a'second thread is knit into'thec ,t fstockingsthatis, the leg-portioncr ankle hold the"; auxiliary thread guide outi'of action alnd'the cutter ,mechanism out of action'while a plurality of successive courses 7 is. beingknit' with a single thread, or With- 'out the auxilia'ry thread hereinbefore" re ferred tog This is accomplished bythe cam Q tlie rofd 122,".to i-aise the auxiliary thread guide out of action. At the sametim'e'the Y e 24 acting to rock the lever 23 "and; through lever 58 rocked by" said rod [22 to actuate the link 57, thus actuating the link 55 to rock'thelev'er toward the right (-li ig; 4;)1 and move the slide fiend slide' lO toward 'l the right, thus disconnecting the pin-I38 fi'oni theslot 39 in the lever30, so that the in cutting mechanism is out "o ffaction." and a'lso the' roll Allis thrown out of the. path 0mo e e c ofthe cams 50; and 51 ,When' the coin 2 L hasfpassed by the leve'r'23,"the i i reverseof the movements hereinbefore (le scrihedwill occur andthe auxiliarythread I i i 1 0.9 s, cutting device and its actuating mechanism guide will be thrown into; action and the thrownintoposition to beactuatedfby the It-will be. noticed amine deseribedrnove-I ihent radi'allyoutward of the slide 43 breaks the connection between the lever 30 and its actuating mechanism. This permits the n free elevating. movement of the latch ring,

'17 aboutqits pivot 171 in theordinarycperation of the machine shown inpthe said Hernphill patents. My device therefore pro vides mama cut and clamp thespli'cing yarn carried by the latch ring and free'fto be moved away from theneedles with said] latch ring, without placing upon, thelateh, Y ring any'part of the operatingfconnections for the cutter and clamp except the lever 30 and the, bracket upon'which it is pivoted. Y

Havingthus described my invention, What cure is:

I claim and desire'by Letters Patent to se- 1. A knitting niachine having in combi j nation with a rotaryknitting element a. sectional splicing (lBVICQACOIIl'pIISIIlg' a plu-j rality of yarn guides, a movable connection f forrend'ering one of said yarn guides oper ative and inoperative during each revolu tion of said element,,a yarn severing mechanism 'means for actuating said severing mechanism during each revolution, and means actuated by said connection for rendering said severing means inoperative.

' 2. In a knitting machine a needle cylinder and needles, yarn feeding means including a pivoted latch guard ring, means to clamp and cut a yarn removed from operative feedingposition mounted on said latch rings, and actuating means for'said cutting and clamping means including an element movable into and out of engagement with said cutting and clamping means,

whereby the latch guard ring may be elevated freely when said means are disengaged.

3. In a knitting machine a needle cylinder and needles, yarn feeding means including a pivoted latch guard ring, means to clamp and cut a yarn removed from operative feeding position mounted on said latch ring, and actuating means for said cutting and clamping means including an element movable into and out of engagement with said cutting; and clamping means whereby the latch guard ring may be elevated freely, and means for moving said element into and out of engagement with said cutting and clamping means at predetermined times.

4. In a yarn feeding device for, knitting machines, in combination with a needle cylinderand needles therein, a movable yarn guide and means to move it at predetermined times from an operative position at the exterior of the knitting needles to an in operative position above and toward the interior thereof, a latch guard ring, a relatively fixed yarn severing member mounted upon said ring having a depending portion within the circle of needles, said depending portion having a channel or notch therein to receive yarn from a yarn guide in an inoperative position, severing means for said yarn cooperating with said depending memher, means independent of said latch guard ring to operate said cutting and holding means, and means to render said operating means inoperative at predetermined times. 5. In a knitting machine, a sectional splicing device comprising a plurality of yarnguides. a. cam shaft and pattern cams, and connections for rendering said yarn guides operative and inoperative. means cooperating with one of said connections for independently rendering one of said guides alternately operative and inoperative when permitted by its pattern-cam, a yarn-severlng mechanism, and means for actuating said mechanism rendered operative and 1noperative by the movement of said connection.

6. In a knitting machine, yarn guides and means to move them independently including a camshaftand pattern cams, means to sever the yarn from a yarn guide in an inoperative position and actuating means for said severing means comprising an element a and connections thereto controlle from said cam-shaft to move said element into and out of operative engagement with said severing means in combination with means to operate said element when it is in operative engagement with said severing means.

- 7. In a knitting machine, needle and cam carriers, means to rotate one of saidcarriers with respect to the other, yarn-guides and means to move them independently including a cam-shaft and pattern cams, means to sever the yarn from a yarn guide in an inoperativeposition and actuating means for said severing means comprising an element and connections thereto controlled from said cam-shaft to move said element into and out of operative engagement with said severing means in combination with means relatively fixed with respect to said needle carrier to operate said element when it is in operative engagement with said severing means.

8. In a knitting machine, knitting needles, yarn feeding means including a plurality of yarn guides and means to render one of them active and inactive at predetermined times, a yarn severing mechanism positioned to encounter yarn from a yarn guide in an inoperative position and means to actuate said severing mechanism, said means including an element movable into and out of operative engagementwith said severing mechanism, and a cam relatively fixed with respect to the knitting needles in a position to encounter said element when in said operative engagement only, to then operate said severing mechanism.

9. A circular knitting machine having, in combination, a needle cylinder, a series of needles mounted thereon, adapted to lead thread to said needles, shears adapted to.cut and hold said thread within the circle of said needles, a slide adapted to operate said shears, means movable with said needle cylinder adapted to actuate said slide to'operate said shears, a second slide upon which said first named slide is mounted and means to move said last named slide to carry said first named slide out of engagement with said actuating means.

10. A circular knitting machine having, in combination, a rotary needle cylinder, a series of needles mounted thereon, a primary thread guide and an auxiliary thread guide adapted to lead thread to said needles, means adapted ,to move said auxiliary thread guide into and out of cooperative relation with said needles, for each course of a plurality of successive courses knit thereby, shears adapted to cut and hold said thread within the circle oi said needles, a slide adapted to operate said shears, and means movable with said needle cylinder adapted to actuate said slide to operate said .while a plurality of courses are being knit upon said needles.

In testimony wliereo'l I have hereunto setmy hand 1n presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' HENRY L. TRUDEL. Witnesses ARNIE .l. DAILEX,

l)A1\'1l )L A. Runmxs. 

